On Monday, 9 January and Tuesday, 10 January, Bethlehem University hosted over 50 Catholic bishops and other church leaders from North America and Europe together with the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land (click here for list of attendees). This is the fifth such meeting held in the Holy Land over the past eight years, with the support and encouragement of the Vatican. H.E. Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Delegate and Papal Nuncio, and H.E. Msgr. Michel Sabbah, Latin Patriarch, were in attendance. As part of this annual solidarity meeting, the representatives from Europe and North America engaged political leaders from Israel and Palestine in dialogue seeking movement towards reconciliation leading to peace and justice in the Holy Land, matters related to the Holy See’s agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Israel, and defining a theological framework and future strategy for coordination work.
Among the visitors were Archbishop Patrick Kelly, Archbishop of Liverpool and Vice President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales; Archbishop Brendan O’Brien, Archbishop of St Johns and President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops; Bishop William Skylstad, President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops; Bishop Joan Enric Vives i Sicilia, Bishop of Urgell, Co-Prince of Andorra; Bishop Dr Andreas Laun, OSFS, Auxiliary Bishop of Salzburg, Austrian Bishops’ Conference; Msgr André Lacrampe, Metropolitan Archbishop for Eastern France, Bishops’ Conference of France, President, National Council for Solidarity; Bishop William Kenney CP, Catholic Foundation in Gothenburg, Sweden; Msgr. Pierre Bürcher, Auxiliary Bishop, Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Freibourg Swiss Bishops’ Conference; and Dr. Rudolf Solzbacher, Member of the Bethlehem University Board of Regents and Director of the Department of International Church Affairs of the Archdiocese of Cologne, Germany. (Guest List)
Brother Vincent Malham, President-Vice Chancellor, welcomed the Church leaders for their two day visit at Bethlehem University. He expressed gratitude for the faithful support of the people of the Christian Churches and people of all faith traditions in the Holy Land. He also spoke of the vital and significant role the University plays in the development of Palestinian society.
During their time at the University, the Bishops engaged faculty, staff and students in dialogue, exploring aspects of life in the Holy Land and hopes for the future, especially given the current socio-political events. Bethlehem University participants included Father Jamal Khader, Chairman of the Department of Religious Studies; Dr. Sami Adwan, Faculty of Education; Brother Joe Loewenstein, English Department; Mr. Sami El-Yousef, Vice President for Finances and Planning; Dr. Jeanne Kattan, Faculty of Arts, English Department; Brother Peter Iorlano, Coordinator of Institutional Values; Dr. Irene Hazou, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs; Vera Baboun, Assistant Dean of Students; and Brother David Scarpa, Dean of the Faculty of Science. Students Yara Obayat, Shahinda Abu Farha, Saher Al-Sous, Shatha Daqqaq, Lara Khamis, and Ameer Baboun also joined the Bishops in dialogue.
The church leaders also dined in the University's Institute of Hotel Management and Tourism with Brother Vincent Malham, Brother Fergus McArdle, Brother Jack Curran, Brother Peter Iorlano and Brother Neil Kieffe.
